The Art of Creative Teaching and Learning

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The Expressive Teacher

“One’s action ought to come out of an achieved stillness: not to be a mere rushing on.” D. H. Lawrence I had to break my toe to find stillness. I came to realize that despite daily meditation my pace of life is still hectic and hurried; the stillness I cultivated in meditation fleeting. With the…

Picking Clean the Bones by Sally Atkins Tell me, she said: What is the story you are telling? What wild song is singing itself through you? Listen: In the silence between there is music: In the spaces between there is a story. It is the song you are living now. It is the story of…

There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.Nelson Mandela As one year draws to a close and another year opens before us, spending time in reflection allows one to recognize the slow and gradual personal changes that took place over the course…

“To be guided by love is to live in community with all life. However, a culture of domination, like ours, does not strive to teach us how to live in community. As a consequence, learning to live in community must be a core practice for all of us who desire spirituality in education.” b. hooks…

At a recent conference on contemplative education, I welcomed being in a community of colleagues who are exploring and implementing contemplative practices in the classroom, both K-12 and Higher Education. In today’s society with endless task lists, objectives to complete and non-stop sensory input, moving at a slow, thoughtful and balanced pace is difficult to…

“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up” Pablo Picasso Art is not separate from life but an endless interaction with life. In fact, the arts have been a part of the human experience since the beginning of time. Our ancestors painted on the walls of…

A desert extends in front of me A plateau of emptiness I feel the burning that comes from being exposed to the sun too long I am parched dry In need of hope. I wrote the above poem several years ago, when I found myself feeling the approach of burnout in my teaching life. I…

In a basic sense, the arts are about saying “I,” and what underlies that risk is some kind of confidence in the self. And this sense of self is at the root of all we are and do….This sense of self serves teachers well every minute they are with children, and if the teachers have…

Keep close to Nature’s heart… and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean. John Muir I’ve offered professional development workshops for teachers that provided exploration of the landscape through art and writing. An antidote to the confines of a classroom…

“You are the sky. Everything else – it’s just the weather.” Pema Chodron I’ve started a new teaching job, I’m in a new town and at times I feel overwhelmed by the unfamiliarity of everything. It’s as though I’m spinning in constant motion with seemingly little direction. Chaos runs rampant. In a moment of silent…